Two Good Friends, and a Tennis Court
by Fayth in the Music
Summary: Odafin Tutuola didn't do many things. Tennis was one of them. However, when Melinda asked him to come to the tennis courts with her, how can he say no? Felinda


Odafin Tutuola didn't do a lot of things. Things on this list included singing, watching movies, and crying.

One of the items on his great list of things he didn't do, was playing tennis. Yet, here he was on one of his treasured day off, at a tennis court. The sun was burning down through the sky, and the detective was realizing that maybe he shouldn't have worn a black shirt.

He stared at the racket in his hand, trying to figure out how to hold it. Did you hold it like a baseball bat? Not that he knew how to properly hold a baseball bat. That was another item on the list of things he did not do. Novak had tried to show him once, and it didn't end well.

"You're holding it like a gun, Fin."

Fin looked up, and suddenly remembered why he came to this horrible place.

Standing before him was doctor Melinda Warner, his co-worker. An intelligent, powerful woman who made his job as a detective much easier. She gave him many details about individual cases that would always help him find the perpetrators and put them in Rykers or Sing-Sing where they belonged. Then there was the fact that she was absolutely gorgeous, and he liked being in her company.

He didn't deny that he was attracted to her. It wasn't anything strange. She was a beautiful woman. It wasn't even that unnatural Barbie-doll beauty that was glamorized in Hollywood and beauty magazines. It was a more mature beauty. She wasn't exactly a young woman, after all. She was his age, in her forties. He wouldn't change that for anything. She was perfect the way she was.

It was only natural when she asked him to go play tennis with her, that he would agree.

She was more dressed for the occasion then he was. Her hair was held back in a pony-tail, she wore a white tank-top, and shorts. It was more skin then he ever saw on her.

"Let me help you hold it," she said, walking up to him. He only nodded, and she grabbed his hands. She slowly positioned them into an awkward position, but his mind was more focused on the fact her hands were grabbing his. He felt his heartbeat get a little bit faster.

"You're really sweaty," she said. Fin resisted a sigh. That wasn't exactly what you wanted a beautiful woman to say when they were holding your hands.

"Thanks," he replied. She gave him a mildly concerned look.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"It's just hot out."

The fact that she was touching him didn't help either, not that he would actually say that.

"Do you want to take your shirt off?"

"What?"

That wasn't what he was expecting the woman to say. It was so out of the blue. He couldn't figure out why she would possibly want him to take his shirt off. Unless…

"If it's too hot out, you can take it off. I don't mind."

Fin slowly nodded his head, embarrassed he didn't realize that's what she meant. He knew she didn't like him in that manner. They were friends. Really good friends, but friends none the less. She was a married woman, after all.

"Are you sure?" He asked. She laughed, letting go of his hands in the process.

"Fin, sweetie, I deal with dead people for a living. Whatever you're embarrassed of showing, I promise you that I've seen worse."

The only thing he'd possibly be reluctant about showing were the scars on his torso. Of course, he wasn't embarrassed by them. Being in the business he was in, scars came with the territory. A little less now than it did with narcotics, but every once in a while he'd be chasing a suspect and find himself waking up in the hospital with no memory of what happened.

He handed her the tennis racket and threw off his shirt. It suddenly felt a bit cooler, and he sighed in relief. It felt good.

"Someone works out," she complimented, smirking. Fin was glad he had the skin color he did, because his blush didn't show.

"Back at ya."

He picked up the tennis racket, debating in his mind if he should have her place his hands in position. His decision was made for him, when he suddenly felt the heat of her hands on his, moving them to that position. However, the pleasure of her skin didn't last long, as she quickly adjusted them to where they needed to be, and was walking back to her side of the tennis court.

"Are you ready?" She asked, racket and tennis ball in hand. Fin smiled, and nodded.

"Sure."

He watched as she threw the ball into the air, and in one graceful motion, she forcefully hit it back to his side of the court.

He saw the ball move, and ran to hit it. He swung at the yellow-green ball as hard as he could.

However, as he swung, he let go of the racket, and it went flying across the court. Melinda quickly ducked as the sporting equipment went flying over her head. It was stopped by the fence behind her, and the sound of it sliding down filled the arena.

Fin just stood there, and sighed. He had officially made an idiot of himself. Melinda started laughing, and Fin took a breath. He was just glad the rest of the squad wasn't there to see that little episode. They'd never let him hear the end of it.

"You suck at tennis!" Melinda called out, giggling.

"No kidding!"

She ran to retrieve the tennis racket, and Fin smiled as she did. She really was beautiful when she ran.

She walked back and handed the racket to him, adjusting his grip on the handle again.

"The trick is not letting go," she explained.

Fin grabbed on tighter to the racket, wishing her hands were under his instead of above.

"Right," he replied.

She let go of his hands and walked back to her side, grinning.

"Ready to try again?" she called out.

"Bring it."

She hit the ball over, and he took another wild swing. He was actually pleased when he hit the ball this time, only for it to go into the net. She started laughing again. That melodic laugh that made him feel like there were good things in the world. He liked hearing her laugh. He'd like it more if she was laughing for another reason besides his horrible tennis skills, but it was still nice.

He constantly had to remind himself that she was a married woman. Untouchable. As much as he liked being with her, and as perfect as she was, he would never try and pull her from her husband. She had chosen to be with him for a reason. He knew that if she had picked him, he must have been a good person. That was also something he didn't do. He didn't steal people's wives, and he didn't ruin families for his own selfish desires. Besides, she was too smart to pick someone who didn't treat her well. If he found out otherwise, there would be some killing, but until then, he excepted his roll. He would enjoy his time with her, not as a suitor, but as a friend.

That's what made days like these pleasant. They were somewhere where they weren't a cop and a medical examiner, but just two friends having fun.

Two good friends.

* * *

><p><strong>Felinda, one of the best Law &amp; Order couples. Just a little one shot. Yes, I know it didn't end with them making out on a beach with a sunset in the distance, but hey. I really like how this one turned out. Then again, I'm sleeped deprived and there is a very good chance this is a horrible monster which should have never been created. <strong>

**Thank you for reading.**


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